This invention relates, in general, to input/output (I/O) processing in a computing environment, and in particular, to obtaining information regarding the I/O configuration of the computing environment.
Different computing architectures have different I/O configurations. For instance, System z® machines based on the z/Architecture® offered by International Business Machines Corporation have an I/O configuration that includes a channel subsystem having channels and subchannels. Associated with this channel subsystem is an interface, referred to as a Channel Subsystem Call instruction, by which operating systems can manipulate the various I/O resources of the configuration.
Other types of I/O configurations, however, may be used that do not include traditional I/O devices, such as channels and subchannels. For instance, some configurations use Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) adapters, which have attachment and communication paradigms that are different than that of traditional I/O devices.